(Mary Ellen at this time was already in Ga., perhaps going to her sister Eliza's earlier. I say this as Hugh H. Ferguson married Mary Ellen on 3 April 1853. Also the William Ferguson she refers to has to be none other than William Jasper Ferguson, elder brother to John H. and Hugh Hamilton Ferguson, and my great grandfather, this as no other Ferguson in that area of Georgia fits the required parameters. I have no idea as to why William J. Ferguson and not his brother Hugh H. Ferguson, went to SC to pick them up.)

     When we moved to Georgia we moved in a covered wagon. We started
from the summer house out of Coopersville. We passed through Limestone Springs, Spartanburg, Greenville, and other places I do not remember as it was one hundred and fifty miles we had to go. We passed through Pickens, it was not a large place and I remember the court house more than anything else, we then stopped at a nice farm and bought the sweetest butter I ever ate. The woman asked where we were from, and when I told her she said she used to live there also. She asked if I knew the Guytons, and when I said I did she said that if I should go back again to tell them you saw me and that I have 13 children living. She told me her name but I have forgotten it long ago. 

     On the way we stopped at Tocoee Falls and had dinner by them. We
crossed two rivers, the Keowee and Tugaloo, the latter being the
dividing line between SC and Georgia. Somewhere along our way we
crossed a small brook and Bill Ferguson stopped to let the horses
drink. Something frightened them and they started to run. I was
walking up the hill ahead and as they came plunging along I caught the lines. Ferguson had fallen on the tongue and couldn't get up, and you can be sure that he was glad I stopped them when I did.

So we traveled on until we reached Mossy Creek, and there we met
Eliza and the children. They were overjoyed at seeing us. I think it
was a year later that Horatio Hennion and his partner Mr. Jones,
bought the forge from Eliza and began making iron. 

     The forge was right in front of our house. It was very pretty along the creek, it flowed into the Chattahoochee River. This is where I met your father, on the banks of sweet Mossy Creek. I was strolling along with Eliza and we met him and Young Davis. They stopped to ask Eliza about the forge, then came down again to make arrangements to buy it, and when these were completed they started making iron. Thus things went on until Horatio started coming across the creek pretty often. In about a year or a little more we were foolish enough to get married. 

     Our first child, William Norcross, was born here, but after Horatio quit the iron business we moved to Mossy Creek Campground, called Leo, near Skitts Mountain, where he worked at his trade of making wagons. It was there our second child, Julian Wilson, was born, and in 1860 we moved to Gainsville. Horatio had all the work he could do there, and would have done well, but his partner cheated him I believe. Here our third son, Horace Victor, was born. In April 1861 the Civil War broke out, and as Horatio was a strong Union man, our troubles commenced.

     Montgomery, a friend of Horatio's, told him they were going to
mob him and ride him on a rail, so he went back to Mossy Creek to my
sisters, and sent for me in about two weeks.

     The balance of this has more to do with Horatio's evading the
Confederates than anything else, so from this point on I will mention
only highlights, and any relationships I run on to.

     Horatio hid out at a still house with other Boys, as they termed
themselves. This was not far from their house and a pre arranged
signal was for Margaret to call their dog Rolla if the Rebs came. This happened and when she called Rolla several times her son Bill told her that Rolla was there. The Rebs asked how many dogs they had and she said two, but they had detected that this was a signal, Ratio had split however and they never found him. She mentions a niece named Ann Jane, (who must have been a dau. of Eliza, Margaret's sister). She also says the house they lived in was the Brock house, and that when she would become lonesome she would sometimes cross the creek and stay at Mr. Brock's. (This Brock was probably a descendant of Thomas Brock Sr., who was the father of Nancy Jane Brock, who married William Jasper Ferguson, elder brother to John H., Hugh H., et al. I suspect it was Thomas Brock Jr., son of Thomas Brock Sr.). Margaret Jane had been baking a lot of Indian bread when the Rebs came. Horatio was going to NC with the "Boys", and this was to take with them. When the Rebs asked why she made so much bread, she said that it was to eat, so they ate it.

The Rebs threatened to take Margaret's baby Alice with them if
she did not tell where Horatio was. Alice was about 13 months of age
at the time and as Margaret notes that it was on 30 Jan 1863 when the
Rebs came, you can compute her approximate date of birth from that.

     The Rebs did take Alice, and said they were going to drown her but she said she didn't believe that or she would have fought. They dropped her at Kim Staytons house, and he brought her back. (I think this is Kimsey Staton, brother of Tom Staton, who married Josephine Moore, she a dau. of Milton Moore and Mary Ann Ferguson, this Mary Ann a dau. of Hugh Ferguson and Mary Ann Higgins). Margaret states here that they moved into a nice house owned by Jake Ferguson, who was a Union man. Her mother lived with her there, but as Horatio was having so many problems with the Confederates he moved to NC, and was employed there in an iron forge. Due to this type of work he was exempt from conscription, and he came for Margaret with a team and wagon, moving them out at night. Margaret states this was the last time she saw her mother until she visited her in SC, this in Nov of 1874. (from this I think you can fix an approximate date for her death, this with data given earlier in this. The Jake Ferguson mentioned has to be Jacob V. Ferguson, son of Champion Ferguson, he a brother to Hugh Ferguson Sr. L.L.D.)

     Margaret now mentions a dau. Florence, but gives no additional
information about her, other than to say she was a babe in arms. After the war they go by train to New Jersey, and while on the road to Morristown they meet Horatio's father. Margaret mentions a brother
John, who married Anna.

     Horatio Hennion does mention leading a small group of men to free Bill O'Kelly from the log jail at Cleveland Ga. (This Bill O'Kelly was the father of Frank M. O'Kelly, who married Sarah Ann Manerva Ferguson, dau. of Champion and Rachel Ferguson.)